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Facts about fat
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Fat is an essential nutrient in the diet
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According to the latest dietary guidelines, fat should form no more than 35 per cent of total daily calories; saturated fat should account for less than 10 per cent; dietary cholesterol should be less than 300 mg per day, and trans-fats no more than one per cent of daily calories. These are upper limits for daily intake, but eliminating fat completely from the diet is also unhealthy. Fat is an essential nutrient in the diet, as important as carbohydrate or protein.
The best sources for dietary fat are fish, polyunsaturated fats such as sunflower, safflower, soy, cottonseed and corn oils, and monounsaturated fats such as nuts, olive oil and peanut oil. The body eventually converts all excess calories into saturated fat. Avoid ghee, vanaspati and butter. Use sunflower oil whenever possible. Do not re-use oil: such oil is rich in trans-fats, which are probably worse than saturated fat for your arteries. Commercially prepared fried and baked foods contain hydrogenated fats that are rich in trans-fats. Do not eat more than one whole egg yolk per day.
Use roasted or plain nuts as snacks. They are rich in monounsaturated fat and are good for arteries.
Substitute fish for meat in your diet. Fatty fish contain omega-3 fatty acids that are good for cardiovascular health. Not all seafood is healthful. Prawns, for example, are rich in saturated fat and are probably worse than red meat for health.
"Low fat" bread spreads are often not all that low in calories. Manufacturers often substitute hydrogenated fats for saturated fat which is marginally lower in calories but is probably just as bad for the heart. Healthful weight loss depends on lowering total calorie intake from all sources to optimum levels and not just on lowering fat intake. Even in the most stringent of weight-loss diets, some fat is essential to meet daily metabolic requirements.
RAJIV. M
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